Customer Reviews

PS3 Real Arcade Pro. 3-SA

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is, without a doubt the fight stick you should buy for your PS3. It has all of the same components as the Mad Catz Tournament sticks. Right out of the box, you get all Sanwa buttons and, of course, your Sanwa JLF joystick. In addition, something you get with this baby that you don't get with any of the SFIV sticks (despite what some previews or even the box itself says) is full PS1/PS2 compatibility as long as you have the latest firmware update, and obviously, a backwards compatible PS3. The HRAP 3 SA is also fully wired to work on your PC, which means you can play all those games you have on MAME or any other emulator you use. The fight stick itself is heavy enough where you can rest it on a table and it will stay firmly in place, (yes it has the four rubber stops at the bottom) but light enough where you can play it on your lap without any discomfort. It's also a beauty to look at. It's got a very sleek design and the japanese style button placement is just right for most of your favorite fighting games.

I understand there's been some concerns about the square gate the joystick uses. Let me just say that I have always been used to an octogonal gate when playing my fighting games. While I do admit it felt a bit awkward at first, I got used to it fairly quickly. The type of gate a joystick uses doesn't affect the movement commands at all. Just keep using it and it will feel right in no time. However, if you continue to have trouble with it you can always buy an octogonal restrictor plate. (I highly recommend [see comments] for all you arcade part needs.) The stick is easy enough to mod, and I believe the plate is a snap-in-snap-out kind of deal.
P.S. ALL ARCADE FIGHT STICKS THAT COME WITH A SANWA JOYSTICK INCLUDES THE SAME SQUARE PLATE!

Conclusion: If you're going for the best-of-the-best, I can't recommend a better fight stick than this one. The only thing the Mad Catz Tournament Editon Stick really has over this is that compartment for the cord, which is admittedly cool. But with backwards compatibility and, at the time of this review, a $10 cheaper price tag, your arcade fight stick of choice should definately be the Hori Real Arcade Pro 3 SA. Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to play more Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.

If you have never owned a joystick before, this should be the right review for you. I have never owned one until today, but I have enjoyed the Street Fighter series, Guilty Gear, and now BlazBlue quite a bit. If you played these games then you know how much it hurts to do quarter circle forwards/backwards on the directional pad when you play for more than ten minutes. After downloading Street Fighter 2 HD Remix, I played it quite a bit and woke up the next day with a really sore left thumb. Gone are those days. I wasn't sure about this price tag, but I had a bit of extra money lying around and decided to go for it.

First of all, if you naively expect (as I sort of did) to be good as soon as you start using it, you will be very disappointed. Again, I have never owned a joystick and I could barely pull off a quarter circle forward + punch (hadouken!) on SF2HDR. After playing for about four hours, I can now do them but it is still not natural to me. Point is, don't give up on the joystick, you will have to completely relearn how to play the game which is frustrating when you were already decent on a directional pad (and now you suck again). However, judging how quickly I'm improving and as I expect everyone else will, it's worth it.

Should you buy a fight stick? If you want to play fighting games how they are meant to be played, if you want to play considerably better (with time), if you will play fighting games for a long time, then yes. If you are worried about whether you will be good at using the joystick, you wont, let's make that very clear. You will improve if you put in the time though, and your thumbs won't hurt so that's awesome. Should you buy this particular Hori RAP 3-SA stick? If you have the money, yes. If you don't, consider another cheaper joystick since it's all basically the same if you are a casual player. However, if you plan on using the stick for a long time, then invest in this one because it is made of the best parts and will last you a long time.

The actual stick is very nicely built. It is quite large and feels very good on your lap or table. Take a look at the dimensions so you can understand what I'm talking about. This size is nice because it lets your wrists rest on it. It is not flimsy at all and neither does it look that way, it's made for heavy duty. The parts are all sanwa, which if you are a first time buyer like me, you have no idea what that means. However, pretty much every website says these are the best parts, and this is the main appeal of this stick. The buttons are extremely sensitive, so don't plan on resting your fingers on them. The PS Home button and turbo function work well so you can expect everything to work perfectly. The joystick itself is also very sensitive, but I find it annoying that the ball-top rotates and is not securely in place. Also, the square gate needs getting used to. A square gate means that if you push the joystick as far as it goes and rotate, it makes a square. This makes quarter circle movements difficult, but "z movements" (forward, down, down+forward, like shoryukens) are a bit easier. This is the main obstacle in using a fight stick, but fear not, if you absolutely hate the square gate, you can buy a circle or octagon gate and swap it, as this fight stick is very good for modding (another of it's main selling points).

The stick deserves five stars because it is basically perfect and made for top players. New players will suck using it, I guarantee it, but with time they will improve as I have, and improving on the best stick available is very nice so I definitely recommend it if you can afford it. If you are on the fence, take the dive as it is definitely worth it and the stick will last you far longer than something cheaper.

Well, I'll start off saying that I have frequently gone to arcades such as FFA or Denjin to play 3rd strike. (both in San Fernando Valley area) The Hori Pro Arcade SA-3 is the closest thing I have gotten that plays very similar( if not identical) to the arcade machines. The Sanwa buttons are very easy to press but not too soft. It has a little mix of both the hori buttons and the american made buttons. The stick, also sanwa of course, is superb. It has a slick rotation feel to it and executions can be made with ease. The front plate is smooth and polished that doesn't leave handmarks or fingerprints. The wire/cord is very long (long enough for you to sit back and relax on the couch). It is fully compatible with the PC as it is a USB cord. You just plug in and play.

PROS:
-Easy to use
-Very smooth (although sometimes too smooth)
-Fairly Heavy, (like 6 pounds?) and has rubber on the bottom to have a stable game
-Not your average stick, this baby can take punishment (rage gamers like me)
-Long Cord/Wire - USB
-Can take a beating

CONS:
-The Turbo, Home, R3, L3 Buttons are next to each other and its hard to see the labels for them
-Although all the parts are sanwa (which are the best IMO), if you want to swap the parts, It is much harder than say..The Tournament Edition MadCatz stick
-No Compartment for the long wire
-Pretty damn huge to put it on your lap leisurely

Conclusion:
I can honestly say I am very happy that I bought this. The 3-SA is probably one of the best arcade sticks you can buy without having to spend ludicrous amounts of money on. Street Fighter III 3rd Strike runs very well with this stick as well as Street Fighter IV. The white buttons are very nice on the eyes and it looks pretty sexy. I give this product, 5 stars. (^___^)

First off, let me say it's been about 5 years since I used a stick, so there's some relearning I've been doing. That means if you've never used a stick you're going to have to relearn how to play. However, it will pay off hugely in the end.

The price on this thing is great. I got it for $90. Considering that a new PS3 controller is about $60 this is a really good deal if you play a lot of fighters. I ordered it on thursday, shipped on Monday, and was here on Tuesday. Very quick, which made even more awesome.

The stick itself is a behemoth. It's a bit daunting to look at something that big at first, but you sit down with it and use it, everything feels in place. The weight isn't bad at all when it's on your lap, and actually feels quite stable and secure on a table. The buttons are really responsive and react smoothly when pressed. The stick responds great. I can feel the square gate, but, since I'm still relearning, I don't feel like I can give an opinion on it one way of the other. It's an easy fix if you have some hex keys lying around though.

Overall, this was a great buy at $90. If you want a stick for a PS3 then this is the best deal you can get.

This is a quality built joystick with the parts you'd expect: Sanwa buttons and Sanwa joystick. Perfect for most arcade games, particularly fighting.

One of the key things for me getting this stick was knowing it would work with backwards compatible PS3s to play PS2 games, as of yet, you still cannot do this with the Mad Catz products (Fight Stick and Tournament Edition). Still got my PS2 copies of SF III, Alpha Anthology to play. When looking at the two sticks, it's a little heavier than the TE stick, about the same size, uses pretty much all the same parts, but the control panel is a little different as it doesn't offer a lock like the TE stick does (to prevent the guide/home button from being pressed). The only thing the TE stick has over this one is the cord compartment.

The buttons are responsive and the joystick works as usual for Sanwa. All Sanwa joysticks come with the square gate by default, and typically this is correct for fighting games and most arcade cabinets. Some may prefer the octo-gate but that's just a matter of preference. I like the square gate myself but if anyone would rather get the octogate, it's an extremely easy swap. The heaviness of the stick feels solid when playing and you can tell it will last for years to come.

Overall I would recommend this stick for anyone who owns a PS3 and in particular, those with PS2 capable PS3s.

After selling my Hanaho HotRod joystick many years ago, I have long yearned for a new arcade stick. I've just now gotten around to buying one, and figured I'd conform and go with a Japanese style one. I've never really been into (or good at) fighting games before, but BlazBlue has really gotten me interested lately as well as the upcoming Super Street Fighter IV, and I definitely know that without an arcade stick I am worthless at these games. I've never used a joystick this style before, having always used Happ buttons and bat handle joysticks, and have definitely never played with a square game before.

Needless to say, I received the controller today and have been using it with Blazblue, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and many different arcade games through MAME on my PC and I love it. Fighting games are VERY fun to play, and I don't find the square gate to be any hindrance at all, but you do have to rethink the motions of certain moves. For example, a Haduken in Street Fighter changes from a semicircle motion to more of a U-shaped movement due to the square gate. I have found the square gate to be extremely annoying with just about any game I've played through MAME other than shmups and puzzle games. Classics like Galaga and Pac-Man are quite frustrating, but that's a given since those games used an old 4-way stick.

The build of the controller is excellent, much better than I had expected. It weighs around 6-7 pounds and works nicely on a hard surface or in your lap. The construction is very solid and feels like a lot of love was put into the design of this thing. The cord could be a bit longer, but one can always use a USB extension cord if more length is needed.

Originally, I planned to buy the Sony PS3 Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition, but after doing a little bit of research I found that it only worked on PC's with Intel motherboard chipsets, which was not good as my computer has an Nvidia chip. I'm glad that I found that bit of information, as if I hadn't I would have bought the controller (which is currently $30 more expensive than this Hori stick) and also have to buy a PCI USB card with a compatible VIA chipset, costing me much more than the $90 I paid for this.

Overall I am very satisfied with this controller and plan to recommend it to anybody who wants an arcade stick for PS3 or PC.

I got into SF4 late as I recently picked up a PS3. I had extra cash to burn, but I wanted the best bang for my buck and researched everywhere on the web which led me to the great informative reviews on Amazon. Although the difference from the Madcatz SF4 Fightstick TE is only around $10 on Amazon, it's $30-$40 difference compared with the suggested retail and decided to take the dive.

However, my friends and I weren't very fond of the stock square gate restricter that comes with the joystick. I was aware of it from the other reviews on Amazon, but we had a hard time adapting to it. So I read other reviews and forums posts on how to change the restrictor and ordered a GT-Y Restricter ($4.95) from lizardlick. Shipping was USPS Priority but I got it in the mailbox within the week and it works great! I took off a star because I had the order the restricter. Also if I would've known how the set-up would be inside earlier, I could've ordered a joystick replacement that would support a GT-0 for a perfect 360 degree gate, the set-up I've grown accustomed to from my times hanging out at the mall arcades of years past. The GT-Y restricter is the only compatible change with the stock joystick.

NOTE: To change the restricter, only the top face plate needs to be removed unless you are planning to do additional mods (ie. framed pic, button replacement, complete joystick replacement, etc). It will save you 5 minutes. Also note that the inside wires are scotch taped to the bottom of the inner base pocket of the joystick (not the bottom plate) and carefully lift off the top plate to prevent wires from being yanked off the buttons.

The Hori Real Arcade Pro 3-SA fightstick has a good weight to it, which will keep it steady on a table or in your lap as you fire off hadokens in the latest Street Fighter. The fightstick feels very sturdy and solid, the buttons and stick are authentic Sanwa, arcade perfect parts, meant to stand up to the constant abuse from the heated battles in a busy arcade and the Hori platform they are mounted on feels as if it can handle that kind of treatment as well.

Do not underestimate the size of this beast, the layout is the same as it would be on an arcade cabinet with the addition of a few extra buttons, making it quite a massive controller, however it does not feel unweildy and it fits comfortably onto an adult sized lap.

This fightstick is the perfect peripheral for the fighting game enthusiast, working marvelously with most arcade style, one-on-one fighting games avaiable on the Playstation 3 such as Street Fighter IV, BlazBlue, Tekken 6, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 and Mortal Kombat II. The HRAP 3-SA also works with Windows and, although there are not that many fighting games ported to Windows these days it still works great with Street Fighter IV or an imported copy of Melty Blood.

This is a very high end fightstick, perfect for those wanting to perfect their fighting game skills as any serious fighting game fan would want to do. I would reccomend it to anyone who wants the best fighting experience from their PS3.

Although there may be a new, more expensive stick on the way that tops this one coming in March, this Hori Real Arcade Pro 3 is your best option for a number of reasons. The HRAP 3-SA is great for multiple genres, but I will assume your main reason for looking into arcade sticks is for fighting games.

First of all, the stick carries a good weight so there is no unnecessary movement while in the middle of a heated match against an opponent. It's not as heavy as I predicted, but it is certainly heavy enough. Moreover, the arcade stick needs no upgrades or modifications. The Sanwa stick and buttons are regarded as the best choice amongst players throughout the world. The square gate (gates are typically square or hexagonal, they determine the area the stick can move, ultimately affecting how a player performs maneuvers) and ball-end stick turn out to be a much better alternative to the hexagonal gate and baseball bat style stick. Some American gamers are prefer the hexagonal gate, but the square gate is used in Street Fighter arcade cabinets and are pretty much ubiquitous in Japanese arcades. Japan is home to the greatest arcades and fighting game enthusiasts, so I would consider taking their opinions into account. The ball-end sticks allow for a larger variety of grips and comfort; whereas the baseball bat style stick reminds me of an old Atari controller, something probably not suited well for modern fighters.

I noticed on fighting game message boards that a lot of people fear transitioning from d-pads to arcade sticks. Like many others, I grew up far away from arcades and stuck to using d-pads when playing fighting games. I did this for probably 17 or 18 years, until I decided to purchase a quality arcade stick (this Hori stick). It took me a couple days to get used to the stick. In less than a few weeks, I feel much more comfortable on the stick than a controller. The key is learning the square gate and making sure you take the time in training mode to understand the motions necessary to execute moves. Also, deter from "riding the gates". This means don't rub the stick against the gates when performing maneuvers like shoryukens or dashes. Riding the gates can prematurely wear down sticks, and it isn't an accurate way to perform maneuvers. Luckily with square gates, they require very little movement, so one can perform maneuvers easily without damaging the stick. Once you feel comfortable with the arcade stick, it feels a lot more intuitive than the D-pad---say goodbye to your thumb blisters!

The face buttons are set up much better than many arcade sticks and cabinets found at most American arcades. For example, hold your hand out with your fingers extended. Do your fingers vary in length? Obviously. However, many arcade sticks and cabinets seem to overlook this by placing all the face buttons in a perfectly horizontal plane. To me and many others, it feels really awkward. The nice feature about the face buttons on this HRAP 3-SA is that the buttons are placed in correspondence to your natural finger lengths. The middle button is a little higher on the faceplate, which ideally suits your middle finger. This is the layout used on SFIV arcade cabinets.

Having the face buttons placed correctly also offers an advantage to those who fear leaving the d-pad. Tekken 6 for example, has moves where one is required to press both triangle and circle. This is a near impossible task to perform with one thumb on a Sony controller. On this arcade stick, moves like throws and others moves that require multiple button presses are a breeze. It is an immediate advantage over the D-pad that takes almost no time to learn and utilize.

The stick also looks nice in it's stock condition, although it would be easy to customize if one wanted to. Nonetheless, it looks better stock than sticks with tacky logos and designs thrown all over them (I feel a little strange looking at SF characters while playing Virtua Fighter, Metal Slug, etc).

The only complaint I have about the stick is the lack of wireless play. It's honestly not a big issue, as the cord is pretty long. Also, I have read reviews by customers complaining about the Home, Turbo, R3 and L3 buttons being hard to differentiate. This is a really minor complaint that should be overlooked. With the exception of the Home button, I never use the other aforementioned buttons. It's really not hard to remember the location of the Home button either.

If you really enjoy fighting games---or even 2D shooters and old arcade classics such as Mappy, Pacman or Donkey Kong, this stick is easily your best option and worth the price of $110.

For information about the new ($330) Hori arcade stick, google "joystiq hori march" and click on the first result. Amazon doesn't seem to allow linking to other sites.

I ordered this stick the 17th of this month (pre-order) and it was shipped the day of release which was the 19th. I chose super saver shipping and the order said it should arrive in 5-9 days. Thats ok I thought, I am saving a few bucks anyway. Well I checked my mail and it said it should be here the 21st!! If you can count thats 2 day shipping! and it was correct!

I wanted to give myself 24 hours to let the hype and shock die down a little, also I wanted to test it out on multiple games. I played Marvel vs Capcom 2 for about three(3) continuous hours with my friend over the net and had no problems at all (besides that I forgot to change my button config and screwed up my first match). After that I wanted to test it out on some Ps2 games, so i popped in Street Fighter III Third Strike (my favorite) and played with Urien and Ryu to test both charging and circular motion. I've had no problem with either and enjoyed it like I would at the arcade. Though you may only want this for fighting games, I on the other hand want it for everything I can use it for! Playing Contra: Shattered Soldier is great with this stick. I also tried playing Fallout 3 but seeing how there's only one stick you could see this dilemma a mile away, BUT! With the input selector switch located in the top left corner, you can change the stick to function as the Directional pad, the Left Analog stick, and the Right Analog stick. Thus making play of dual stick shooters and FPS like Fallout a possibility.... but the results aren't your best performance :P I did happen to kill a pesky Rad Scorpion tho.

The quality of this stick is incredible. I feel like I should be sitting in a booth with a giant screen in front of me and metal slug and DDR playing in the background so loud they'd make you cry. But this stick won't make you cry, maybe tears of joy but thats it. The Sanwa stick is here in all its clicky goodness and the buttons are so soft and responsive throwing hadokens or psycho crushing people will pose no problem at all.

All in all. This is a great buy. I don't regret it one bit and neither will you. oh and it does have a square restriction gate for the stick. In forums I see people dont like them but, and maybe its just me, its really a breeze, like a said before, to do circular motions or charging.

Not much else I can say. Im very happy with my Hori Real Arcade Pro 3-SA(Super Awesome) !!!!